Wolf Week
by Winterrrrr
Summary: Fubuki wakes up one normal morning to find out that he has an extremely weird day ahead of him. Please read and review! Summary sucks. Full summary inside. Chapter 4 updated finally! On Hiatus.
1. Day 1

**Hey, people! I'm back~ Hope you haven't forgotten about me~**

**First of all, I'd like to apologize to all of you. I now officially announce that my other fic Snowy Dreams will be put on hiatus state for a while. This us due to my uncooperative brain and those f***ed up writer's blocks. I'll get back to it soon! I promise! I swear! (bows) I'M SO SORRY!**

**Okay. Now I've returned with a new fic. I was just daydreaming on the school bus and I came up with this. I hope this isn't too random and crazy… **

**Warnings: Yaoi. Gouenji x Fubuki (yes I'm obsessed with Goufubu). Over-vivid imagination and bad humor.**

**Enjoy and remember to review~ Now let's start~**

Fubuki woke up one normal morning in his room in Inazuma Japan's lodge, feeling very, very strange indeed.

He lay still in bed, to find that he was lying on his right side, as usual, but something about how he put his limbs was strange.

The way he saw things… the colours were slightly duller, but everything became much more detailed. He could make out the faces on the photo on his desk far off from his bed.

And he could smell a _lot_ more things than usual. The clean linen of his bed sheets, the husky scent of the floorboards…

He could hear a _lot _more too. He could hear someone's bed sheets rustling next room. Was it… Gouenji's room? Yeah. Probably. It came from that direction.

And what the heck… his… _tail_… was sweeping over the bed sheets lazily in a mild rhythm.

What happened to him?

Fubuki made to scramble off the bed, only to find that his hands weren't hands anymore. They were paws, covered pale grey fur.

He tried to stand up, but found that he couldn't, with only his feet – hind paws. He rested his hands – front paws on the floor also, to find that it _felt_ more natural.

What the _heck_ happened to him?

Fubuki trotted over to the full mirror propped in his room to check.

In the glass, a large pale grey wolf with dark green eyes started back.

Fubuki tried to scream, but a small bark-like noise escaped from his throat instead. He raised a front paw experimentally, just to check the mirror wasn't malfunctioning. The reflection in the mirror lifted its paw. Fubuki wagged his… tail. The reflection in the mirror wagged its tail. Fubuki stretched his dark green eyes _wide_. The reflection in the mirror stretched its dark green eyes _wide_. Finally, Fubuki stood up on his hind legs. The reflection did too.

He became a _wolf_?

Okay. Wolf Legend and Thunder Beast are involved with wolves, but this was _way_ too… _wolfy. _What happened last night?

Turn back into a human…

Transform…

_Transform…_

_ DAMMIT COME ON! TRANSFORM!_

He urged every wolf cell in his being to shift back into human DNA.

Nothing happened.

Would he stay like this forever?

Fubuki's breath choked in his throat as he began to panic.

Swallowing to calm himself, Fubuki leaned closer to the glass to study the reflection. He looked like a proper wolf all right, but there was also a hint of his human features there, like the dark green eyes, the same mild expression. There were two patches of lighter-coloured fur above his eyes that resembled his human eyebrows. A tuft of fur also stuck up on top of his head.

Could he talk? "Hi," he tried to say, but a short bark sounded instead.

Good thing he retained his perfectly human mind.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Fubuki-kun! It's time for breakfast!" came Haruna's cheerful voice. The doorknob turned and the door opened.

"Fubuki-kun…? AHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed when she saw him sitting at the foot of the bed.

"HARUNA!" Kidou's voice yelled. Footsteps came thundering towards his room. Kidou immediately dashed in, hugging Haruna. "Are you okay, Haruna?"

"Th-there i-is a-a w-wolf!" She shouted.

Kidou's face swiveled around the room and caught sight of him. "YOU! YOU SCARED HARUNA!" He yelled. His glare could be felt right through his goggles. His scorching gaze swept around the room

"Where is Fubuki?" Kidou demanded.

Fubuki whimpered and dropped his ears, giving him his best puppy-eyes.

"There's no use playing cute. WHERE IS FUBUKI?" Kidou snarled. He was being _way_ too scary.

More footsteps thundered towards his room. Endou, Kazemaru, Gouenji, Hiroto and Someoka burst in.

"What – " Hiroto stopped when he caught sight of the wolf cowering next to the bed, and Kidou yelling at it.

"Kidou! Stop!" Gouenji said. "You're scaring him!"

Kidou visibly calmed. "Him?"

Gouenji shrugged. "It sort of seemed like a male." Gouenji walked over to stand between Kidou and Fubuki. He appeared to be calm, but Fubuki could _smell_ the anxiety and worry on him.

"What are you doing in Fubuki's room?" he asked the wolf.

Fubuki tried to make his expression look more human. How should he express himself…?

"There's no use asking an animal. It can't talk." Someoka rolled his eyes.

Gouenji ignored the pink-haired striker leaned in closer. "You look very smart, though," he murmured, extending a fist for him to smell.

Fubuki sniffed at Gouenji's rich scent. His human mind was screaming in embarrassment, but his wolfish side told him that this was the right thing to do and he should trust the person with this scent.

Yes. He should trust Gouenji.

"Do you know where is Fubuki?" Gouenji asked.

Fubuki nodded.

"He nodded!" Kazemaru said, astonished.

"It may be just a coincidence. Ask more questions to test him," Kidou said. "He looks too smart for an average animal, though."

"Are you a male wolf?" Gouenji questioned.

Fubuki nodded again.

"Are you a female wolf?"

Fubuki shook his head vigorously.

Everyone looked on curiously.

"Do you know where is Fubuki?" Gouenji asked again.

Fubuki nodded.

"Where is he? Can you show me?"

Fubuki raised a front paw and placed it over his heart.

"He's… in you…?"

Fubuki shook his head.

"Hang on… you're Fubuki?" Gouenji's eyes widened as realization dawned upon him.

Fubuki nodded.

"Do you have proof that you are Fubuki Shirou?" Kidou asked.

Fubuki nodded again and walked over to his bag, nosing through it until he held Atsuya's scarf in his jaws. He padded back to his stunned teammates and laid it at their feet.

"You turned into a wolf."

Fubuki nodded and lay down on the floor, curling up. Then he stood up again and rose up onto his hind legs.

"You want to change back."

Fubuki nodded and rested all fours back onto the floor.

"Fubuki…" Endou's voiced trembled. "I-I want to continue to play soccer with you! I want to play against Unicorn two weeks later with you! You just came back and yet you... Will you ever change back?"

Sensing his captain breaking down inside, Fubuki nuzzled the back of his hand with his nose to comfort him.

"Yuck! Your nose is wet!" Endou yelped, pulling away but laughing, snapping out of his emo thoughts.

"It's normal, Endou," Kazemaru sighed.

"You look cute like this, ya know?" Hiroto smiled and ruffled his ears.

_Oi! I'm not a dog!_ Fubuki tried to protest, but instead, a defiant bark emitted from the back of his throat. Probably wolf talk.

"Ooh~ Scary," Hiroto grinned.

"You kinda look like you," Gouenji said, studying his features. His warm hands stroked his ears, then gliding down his furry back, finally rubbing him on the neck. It felt good, in a way.

"What's all the noise?" Coach Kudou came sweeping into the room.

Oops.

"What does this mean?" Kudou asked, pointed at Fubuki.

"I-It's Fubuki!" Endou said. "Fubuki turned into a wolf!"

"What does this mean?" Kudou asked again. "Wolf, can you nod?"

Fubuki nodded.

"Can you shake your head?"

Fubuki nodded again.

"Try it out now."

Fubuki shook his head.

"How smart," Kudou said. "Now. Are you Fubuki Shirou?"

Fubuki nodded and sighed mentally as Identity Questioning Round 2 started. He was sure that there would be a Round 3 soon enough.

OoOoOoOoO

Now the whole team knew.

They were all warned not to let it spread. Coach didn't want to attract the media and start conducting interviews and everything.

Everyone treated Fubuki like a dog. Okay. Maybe except Fudou. The banana-smelling guy just ignored him as usual.

Fubuki was given dog biscuits for breakfast and he was… exasperated. He was a _wolf_ for goodness sake! Not a dog! He'd choked down a disgusting mouthful just to make them happy. Now he was hungry.

He wasn't allowed in soccer practice, either. Kudou made him sit next to the bench. The managers seemed a bit scared of him, but Megane kept poking him and fiddling with his fur, until Fubuki lost his wolfly patience and snapped his jaws at him.

When it was break time for the team, Kudou let Fubuki come out to the field and try playing a bit.

It felt a lot different than when he was a human. The ball seemed bigger and the ground was much closer to him. And he was faster. He couldn't really kick the ball, but it felt good running around. Kicking the ball felt silly, but running was nice.

Maybe training his speed may help... if he managed to change back…

_Can I go to the forest?_ Fubuki managed to scrawl messily on the dirt ground with a claw.

Kudou nodded. "You may, but be careful. You can try… hunting too."

Fubuki padded off.

Why? Why did they still care so much about him after he became like this? He was practically useless to the team now. Yes. He knew they were very good friends, but _still_…

He leapt into the undergrowth and ran off into the forest. His senses were all alert as he raced through the trees silently. Brown and green flashed past him as he plunged deeper into the forest, his mind blissfully blank and worry-free. He let his body move on its own, enjoying the wild, free sensation.

Musky, woody scents filled his nostrils. The wind felt good through his thick fur. Rustles of leaves, birds chirping and insects' scuttling reached his sensitive ears.

He lost track of time when he finally stopped running.

Panting, he caught his breath as he looked around. This part of the forest was darker. The trees loomed overhead and strange smells came from under a thicket.

Creeping forwards soundlessly, Fubuki investigated the unknown scent. It was kind of… delicious but it still smelled weird.

He found what he was looking for. A grey, weak-looking old rabbit sat on its haunches in the bushes, seemingly unaware of the danger nearby. And it wasn't even cute.

And he was _hungry._

He didn't need to think.

Instinct led him to lung forward and he snapped its fragile neck between his jaws.

In no time at all, he'd eaten his prey.

OoOoOoOoO

On his way back to the lodge, he found a stream and washed his bloody muzzle in it. Or else he'd scare the girls out of their skins and Kidou would kill him for frightening his sister.

He returned to see his teammates having lunch already.

"Fubuki-kun, your paws are dirty," Aki scolded gently.

Fubuki gave his best I'm-really-sorry-oh-and-look-I'm-so-cute expression, making Aki giggle and pat him.

"Have you caught anything?" Gouenji asked him quietly when Fubuki passed by his table.

He gave a slight nod and curled up at his Gouenji's feet, resting his chin and front paws on his feet. He heard Gouenji sigh contently at the warm pressure.

He didn't know if he liked or hated his life as a wolf. As a wolf, he could just forget about everything and just focus on hunting and staying alive, but he couldn't talk. He couldn't play soccer. He couldn't spend time properly with Gouenji… Fubuki had felt something for the flame striker since they had their talk under the bridge back in Inazuma Town. He couldn't love Gouenji as a proper human. No matter how close they were, they'd just be far away from each other. He couldn't help but scream humanly in his mind.

Lunch ended and the others went back to practice, while Fubuki ventured out to the forest once again.

He began to explore other parts of the forest.

Suddenly, a new scent hit him.

It smelled like wolf.

"Oh hey there," a voice barked in wolf talk.

Fubuki spun around. Three more wolves stood behind him. The one that had spoken was a large, dark grey male, flanked by two smaller wolves. He was the Alpha male. Fubuki could tell by his smell. His amber eyes were warm.

"H-hi?" Fubuki stuttered.

"I saw your kill earlier. It was amazing," the wolf at the Alpha's left said. It was a female, with dark brown fur and ice blue eyes.

"U-uh, thanks. It was my first."

"First transformation?" the last wolf said. It was another female, with dark grey fur and brown eyes.

"W-what do you mean by that?"

The dark grey female sighed. "Well, technically, we aren't _official_ wolves. We're wolves that can change forms. We started off has humans, too. See," she said. Suddenly, her body glowed pale blue and a young black-haired woman stood over him. "Something like this," she added, transforming back into a wolf.

"S-so, it's like you – "

"We," the Alpha corrected.

"Okay. We are shape-shifters."

"Yep."

"So it's like we're werewolves?"

"Sorta, but you don't change at full moon. You _change at your own will_. So we aren't really werewolves, but we aren't humans or wolves either. But you can call us werewolves, if you want."

"But I'm supposed to be a human!" Fubuki protested.

"But you seem to have werewolf blood. Someone in your family, maybe generations back, is a werewolf. You never know. These things usually skip quite a few generations before the someone gets the wolf DNA," the Alpha explained. "And you, newbie, seem to be the lucky one."

"Right. So how do I change back?" Fubuki asked.

"You actually _want_ to stay as a human?" the Alpha seemed shocked.

"Well, yeah. I have a good life as one. I have many good friends waiting for me."

"I don't really understand why you're choosing this. But now why don't we hear your full story? Then maybe we can help by explaining. The name's Charles, by the way. I'm the Alpha of this pack," the Alpha said.

"I'm Kate," the dark grey she-wolf said.

"And I'm Sandy, we're both Charles's mates," the brown female wolf finished.

The three wolves sat down in front of Fubuki.

"I-I'm Fubuki Shirou. I'm usually Inazuma Japan's striker and defender."

"You're Fubuki Shirou?" Sandy yelped. "GOSH I WORSHIP YOU!" she howled.

"…"

"…"

The other two wolves seemed speechless.

"Thanks~ I'm glad~" Fubuki said. His expression grew more serious. "I woke up this morning and found out that I err… transformed… and my teammates were all very shocked, but they managed to figure out who I am and they still accept me. But I think I'm being very useless to the team now and I think I should find out how to change back. My team needs me for the next match and I miss not being able to communicate properly with my friends."

"Fubuki-sama! So noble!" Sandly flopped to the leaf- covered ground comically, belly sky-wards, and began proclaiming her admiration for him.

"Sandy… you can save this for later…" Charles said, poking her pale belly with a paw. "We have to help him first."

"Oops. Sorry." Sandy flipped back to her haunches and put on a serious expression. "Well, transformations occur when you… uh… how do I say this… when you… when you undergo puberty!" Sandy coughed out.

Fubuki must have had a wolf version of WTF expression on his face, because Kate nodded and said, "You may be already going through… it… but sometimes the wolf DNA goes a little slower than the human ones."

"Okay. I understand. But how do I change back?"

"You will yourself to."

"I tried this morning. It didn't work."

"Oh right… it's your first time… you must find your true love. You two must have strong feelings for each other and it must grow even stronger in order for some change to take place. " Charles said.

"Really?"

"Of course. We fell for each other," Charles said affectionately. "Then we began to change back."

"_Began_ to?"

"Yeah. It's kinda hard to explain, but we began to change back," Charles finished.

"Thank you, Charles-kun, Kate-chan, Sandy-chan. I owe you all a lot," Fubuki said.

"No problems there," Charles gave a wolfish grin, tongue lolling out.

"You know, you can always join our pack if you want to," Sandy said in a slightly dreamy voice.

"Thanks for the offer, but I prefer human life to being a wolf all the time. Thank you, everyone," Fubuki said, giving the three of them quick nuzzles at the shoulder.

He turned and began to pick his way out of the woods.

From far away behind him, he could still hear Sandy's hearty, howled goodbyes.

OoOoOoOoO

The forest floor shuddered from a sudden unknown impact. It got louder and louder. Roars and growls were soon added to the already deafening din. Blood rushed to Fubuki's paws. He knew this.

A huge bear came charging out of nowhere. Its beady black eyes fixed onto Fubuki.

Fubuki wasn't sure if he could fight the bear in his wolf form. He may not be able to kick accurately and powerfully at the bear's vertebrae, and his teeth may not be enough to kill the bear. Besides, in his wolf form, he may be able to outrun the bear. He wished that he was a human now, a human possessing wolf speed and ferocity.

Bunching up his muscles, Fubuki dodged between the bear's hind legs. The bear growled and slashed a paw at his direction.

Fubuki flinched as he avoided the 6-inch-long claws less than a millimeter. He dodged swipe after swipe, then something raked along his flank. White-hot pain seared through his body. And he ran for his dear life.

Loud, regular pounding of heavy paws told Fubuki that the bear was following him. Dammit. He'd angered the bear by running.

Fubuki urged himself faster as the hot bear breath warmed his hind paws. He zigzagged through the trees, trying to confuse the beast hot on his heels. The trees were a blur in his vision. He could hardly see where he was going. The pain was immense. Hazes swam across his eyes. He blinked to clear them away.

He shot out to a familiar clearing. He made a quick U-turn and bolted towards the edge of the forest, skidding to a stop behind a bramble bush. Fubuki twisted his head to check the wound on his right flank. It wasn't very deep, but it was pretty long and it hurt a lot. Blood matted his pale grey fur.

Fubuki held back a whimper and limped back to the lodge.

OoOoOoOoO

When Fubuki reached the soccer field, he could still see the others practicing. The setting sun threw its dying rays of light over the field, turning everything reddish and orange.

Fuyuka opened the door to the field for him and he leapt down the steps. Everyone greeted him and waved.

"Oh hey, you're back!" Endou caught sight of him, turned and waved. Then a flaming soccer ball smashed into his face and he collapsed onto the ground.

"Sorry, Endou." Gouneji apologized. Gouenji turned towards him. "Hey, Fubuki." His smile turned into a frown. "Fubuki. You're limping."

"It's nothing," Fubuki blurted out without thinking.

"You can talk?" Gouenji said, amazement dawning in his eyes.

"… I guess…" Fubuki realized that he was talking in his normal voice in Japanese now, but he still had a slight urge to bark and whimper. What the…

"Don't give me the usual 'it's nothing'. I know there's something wrong. I've known you long enough" Gouenji said, frowning deeper. He walked over to the wolf. "What's this?" he demanded, stroking his right flank.

"I… got… hurt?"

"By what?"

"A bear."

Gouenji muttered something so quietly under his breath that Fubuki, even with his sharpened wolf ears, couldn't hear what he said.

"Everyone! That's all for today! Not bad." Kudou called from the bench. "I saw that wound, Fubuki," he added. "You better get Aki to treat it for you."

Fubuki nodded, not wanting to speak. He managed to limp back to the lodge, with Gouenji trailing after him worriedly.

"Fubuki-kun! What did you do to yourself?" Aki scolded lightly as she

"I didn't do anything…" Fubuki mumbled. "A bear got me…"

"AHHH! You can talk again!" Haruna screamed.

"Haruna!" Kidou appeared out of nowhere. "Is there anything wrong? Onii-chan is here to protect you!"

"It's Fubuki-kun! He can talk again! YAY! I'M SO VERY HAPPY FOR HIM!" Haruna yelled, jumping around in excitement.

"Onii-chan was so worried for you!" Kidou cried, clutching at his heart, then launching himself at Haruna, hugging her tightly.

"Onii-chan~ Let go~ I need to get dinner ready!" Haruna giggled, wriggling away from her over-protective brother's grip.

Fubuki sniggered mentally. Kidou might as well marry Haruna when they grew up. He stifled a groan as the sterilizing cream stung on his wound when he shifted.

"Fubuki-kun, I'm not going to put dressing on it. I don't know how… maybe we should get a vet."

"No!" Fubuki said quickly. "I'll be okay. Thank, Aki-san."

"Talking wolves…" Aki giggled, giving him a pat on the neck before he slunk away to hide under a table. He was already sick of being cared for so much. He would be _fine_! He wasn't going to run off and join Charles's pack! He'd get someone to love him and change back! Speaking of which… he could talk again… was that what Charles told him? Was he _beginning _to turn back? So did it mean that … Gouenji loved him too? His fur burned as a replacement of a blush as the thought crossed his mind.

"I left my jacket at the beach!" Endou suddenly said, as everyone headed to the showers.

"I'll get it for you," Fubuki came back from under the table.

"Thanks, Fubuki, but you're hurt." Endou grinned sheepishly.

"It's fine. Besides, I don't have anything to do. I'll hang it on your doorknob." Fubuki padded out of the lodge and headed for the beach.

Fubuki stepped onto the soft pale sand. Everything felt different. The sand was soft and powery under his paws. The waves seemed louder and the strong smell of salt hung in the air, along with slight smell of fish. He sat down on the sand to face the sunset directly. The huge fiery ball was slowly sinking below the horizon. The top part of the sky was navy blue, slightly tinged with purple from the red rays of the sun. The waves were dyed dark orange, glimmering white whenever it caught light from the sun. Fubuki turned to look for Endou's jacket.

It was hanging on a tree next to the tire he used to practice. Lucky it was on a low branch.

Fubuki fetched the coat with a little difficulty and with a small bark, headed back to the lodge.

OoOoOoOoO

It was after dinner and everyone lazed around in the living room. There was some excitement, though. It was Hiroto VS Toramaru at Wii Inazuma Strikers tonight. It was a game based on Inazuma Japan and its players. The president had given it to them as a gift.

Hiroto was very well known in Inazuma Japan for his superb video game skills. His reflexes were so fast that he could press 5 buttons consecutively even before you could say "fast". They had almost nightly challenges at Wii. Hiroto almost always won. Only Kidou had beaten him a couple times with his tactics.

Fubuki watched with mild interest, as the two players competed against each other, Toramaru cursing lightly and Hiroto smirking. Toramaru supporters booed at Hiroto supporters when Hiroto pressed the wrong button. Fubuki rested his head on his front paws, his tail sweeping lazily over the floor.

"Fubuki."

Fubuki looked up to see Gouenji staring at him from the sofa.

Gouenji patted the empty space next to him.

Fubuki understood and leapt up onto the sofa, trying not to break the sofa with his claws, that acted as spikes when he ran.

"How's your day?" Gouenji asked, running a hand absently over his long fur, stroking him from the top of his head to his tail tip.

"It was okay. Met some wolves in the forest. They were pretty nice," Fubuki confessed, unable to lie to the platinum blond.

"Are you going to join them?" Gouenji asked. Although his voice sounded calm, Fubuki could hear a lump forced down.

"No. I like being with you," Fubuki replied, pressing a cheek to the side of Gouenji's lap.

Gouenji smiled at the affectionate gesture and stroked his back idly as the two watched Toramaru finally winning Hiroto.

The Toramaru supporters (those who lost to Hiroto) cheered loudly while the Hiroto supporters (those who thought Hiroto was awesome) groaned in dismay.

Gouenji chuckled as Toramaru punched the air and screamed, "YESSSSS!" Fubuki laughed along with him mentally. It seemed that he couldn't laugh humanly. Yet.

To be continued.

**I know it's very long! Thankies to those who tolerated my long-winded first chapter~ I'm sure I'll update Chapter 2 very soon, because my head is going to explode from my retarded ideaaaas…**

**Thanks! I appreciate feedback from my readers too! Please review! C'mon. It's just simple. Now click the review button below. **


	2. Day 2

**Hey, everyone! I'm back again! Fast update, huh… (compared to Snowy Dreams) (feels ashamed) Anyway… Let's continue with the story! I don't own Inazuma Eleven! I only own my plot, Charles, Kate, Sandy and my retarded imagination. I had a hard time thinking how I should describe Fubuki's wolf-ish behaviors. I also found it slightly difficult to express how Fubuki thought. But it was fun. XD I love challenges!**

**I had Ice Road (Fubuki's character song) on loop when I was writing this (and spent more than half of the time crying from the song). It took me several days to complete this chapter. I'd gone on Gospel Camp for Wednesday and Thursday (14th and 15th of December) and I didn't have the chance to get my hands on my laptop. But I _tried_ writing a bit of Snowy Dreams at night with my other friends (who are also crazy about fanfiction). But my imagination and choice of words totally abandoned me and I was reduced to eating M&Ms and I got high from the chocolate for the rest of the night until I managed to fall asleep at 12:30 pm (which is extremely late for my standards). **

**Right. Back to the story. Author's rant finished. Let's start reading and please excuse my long-winded chapter (this is actually slightly shorter than Day 1).**

Fubuki woke in Gouenji's room the next morning. He got up from the floor and yawned, stretching out his cramped limbs. Sleeping on the floor wasn't uncomfortable, but something softer wouldn't have caused the muscle aches. He then realized that his bear wound from yesterday was _completely healed_. There was no trace of the seven-inch cut. Just sleek pale grey fur. Wolf DNA, the super substance that worked miracles on supposedly normal people, huh…

Fubuki raised his head to peek at Gouenji, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, one arm over his forehead. His fur tingled as he thought of last night.

Gouenji had, blushing lightly, asked Fubuki to stay in his room for the night. Fubuki, glad to have accompaniment, had agreed immediately. The two had talked about their respective days: Gouenji about soccer and training, Fubuki about his first day as a werewolf/ abnormal wolf. Fubuki didn't tell Gouenji about what Charles told him about changing back, though. He didn't want to force anyone into loving him. He guessed that it would be fine waiting for a while. He was a bit young, too.

_Flashback_

_ "Charles seem nice," Gouenji said. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, beside Fubuki, having just finished listening to Fubuki's story._

_ "He is. Kate and Sandy were too. They explained stuff to me. If it weren't for them, I'd have thought that I'll have to stay stuck as a wolf forever, with no soccer, no school, no ice skating," Fubuki replied._

_ "So. How are you going to change back?"_

_ "Uh…" Fubuki considered telling Gouenji the truth, but he went against that anyways. "They say you have to relax and let it go slowly. It'll happen soon enough."_

_ "Make sure you change back in time for the match against Unicorn," Gouenji said._

_ "Un."_

_ "And you should clean your paws before coming in. Coach's gonna flip." His tone was serious, but his eyes were light and joking. It was rare to see Gouenji's playful side._

_ "Un," Fubuki rested his head on Gouenji's right knee. He didn't know why he did this, but it felt right._

_ Gouenji smiled gently, placing a hand on top of his head, so he squashed his ears flat. "We need to sleep. Are you sure you're okay on the floor?"_

_ Fubuki nodded and curled up on the woody-smelling floorboards. He closed his eyes. From far away, he heard a howl. Probably Sandy. Smiling inwardly, he fell into a deep sleep._

_ Flashback Ends_

Fubuki craned his neck to check the clock on Gouenji's bedside table. 6:00am. Kudou usually had them up at 6:30am. Fubuki had always been an early riser. Now he had half an hour to kill before Kudou has the managers march up to their rooms and yell at them to get up.

He leapt up the chair at the desk, careful not to make any noise. Here, he had a good view of the window, and the world outside. The sun was slowly, steadily floating up the horizon, lighting up the navy sky with its beams. In Hokkaido, the sun would turn the snow bluish, then growing lighter and lighter in colour, until it was a dazzling white, glistening in the cold sun.

From Gouenji's window, he could have a perfect view of the soccer field outside. Oh, how he longed to kick the ball and run across the field – as a human. _Be patient and don't force anyone into anything. Enjoy being a wolf for the time being,_ he told himself firmly. _You've always wanted to be one, haven't you?_

Fubuki's gaze drifted from the window to Gouenji's desk, where a picture of Gouenji and Yuuka stood on the desk in a photo frame. There was another photo on the desk. It was Fubuki. It the same as the one on his passport's. Human, wearing Hakuren's school uniform, smiling slightly at the camera.

Something else caught his eye. It was a photo of a normal, full-grown wolf, printed from the internet. It was dark grey and its flashing amber gaze was proud. Beside the Internet photo, was a newly printed photo. Fubuki could tell by the fresh smell. It was a very, very familiar werewolf. As Fubuki studied it, he saw that it was himself standing in the sunset. Haruna must have taken a photo of him and gave it to Gouenji. He began to compare the differences of him and the normal wolf. First of all. He was larger in size; his legs were longer than the wolf's and his tail flowed out behind him slightly, even he was standing still, unlike the wolf's straight tail, which hung downwards subtly. There was something more feral in the wolf's stare, but Fubuki's was milder, although it was slightly animalistic. His eyes were relatively larger than the wolf's, and there was a shadow of human in his features, while the wolf was completely wild, untamed.

A stack of papers of information on wolves sat next to the photos.

Wow. Gouenji was doing research on him.

Fubuki got back onto the ground and slunk under the desk, losing himself in his thoughts. If Atsuya were still alive, would he be like him too? From which parent had his wolf DNA come from? How long would it take him to transform back completely?

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, then Aki stepped into Gouenji's room, patting him gently on the arm. "Time to wake up, Gouenji-kun."

"A couple more minutes, please, Aki," Gouenji mumbled, struggling to open his eyes.

"Sure, take your time" Aki smiled. "Oh hey, Fubuki-kun," she patted him on the head before heading out again.

Fubuki went over to the bed. He poked Gouenji lightly in the ribs with his muzzle. "Wakey wakey," he murmured.

Gouenji sat up, running a hand through his messy hair, finally forcing his eyes open. "Morning," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Slightly more human," Fubuki tried to smile. He only succeeded in smiling doggedly, with his tongue out and corners of his mouth hitched up.

Gouenji chuckled, and smiled a heart-melting smile at him. "You never fail to cheer me up, Fubuki," he said, opening the door and going out to the bathroom. Fubuki went out with him but trotted down the stairs to go outside instead, a pleasant tingle in his paws from Gouenji's warm smile.

Fuyuka greeted him and opened the door for him.

Fubuki went to the forest again. It felt more natural for him to be there. Guessed that he was still wolfish. He could get his own food here. Like heck he was going to eat dog biscuits again.

There was a rustle of ferns from behind him.

A blur of dark brown shot out from under the bush and onto him, bowling him over. Snarling, Fubuki managed to throw his attacker off. He swung to face the offender, immediately putting up a fighting stance. However, his expression softened at once. "Sandy?"

"Fubuki-samaaaaaa!" Sandy howled, jumping onto him again. "I was waiting for you!"

"Oi! S-stop it!" Fubuki gasped, trying to push her away gently without hurting her.

"Aw, there's no need to be shy," Sandy crooned.

"SANDY!" Another bark sounded.

Kate came stalking out from behind another bush. "You're suffocating Fubuki."

"Woops. Sowie~" Sandy leapt off him. "I'm sooooo sorry that I almost killed you, Fubuki-samaaaaaaaa… Do you know how handsome you are? I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…"

"I'm just coming over to hunt. I hope you don't mind," Fubuki said immediately.

"Sure, it's fine," Charles came out from behind a tree. "Hey there again."

"Hi. Thanks."

"No problem, man. Sandy… he's too young for you…" Charles prodded Sandy with his tail.

"I knowwww, but _still…_"

Kate nudged Fubuki. "Don't worry. She just admires the way you play. And your handsomeness."

Fubuki blinked. "Huh?" _Now_ he was confused.

Kate coughed wolfishly. "Just in case you were uh… thinking wrongly…"

Flustered, Fubuki coughed too. "No no no no no… I like someone else already… really…"

Kate had a suggestive tone in her voice. "Good for you~ You two should hurry up," she said slyly. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"G-girl?" Fubuki choked out before he realized his mistake. Shoot.

"You like a guy?" Kate pressed on. "Who's the lucky guy, then? Is it Gouenji? I ship you two together, you know?"

"Uh… I'm hungry. I'm going hunting," Fubuki said hastily. "Bye, Charles. Bye Kate. Bye Sandy."

With that, he fled from the pack.

As he dug his claws into the soil, urging himself faster, he could still hear Kate howling, "YOU DIDN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION FUBUKI SHIROU!"

Finally stopping at an unfamiliar part of the forest, Fubuki prowled the undergrowth for weak and old animals.

He'd found an old squirrel, but his soft spot for squirrels prevented him from preying upon it.

He's soon walked over to a river.

Maybe he could try his luck at the river.

The clear water flowed along the channel slowly, lapping at the edges gently. The comforting sound of soft-flowing water reached Fubuki's ears.

Fubuki stared down to the river. He could see his reflection in those untainted waters. Hang on. Since when did his wolf eyes have those long, human lashes? Capable of showing perfectly human emotions? Was he continuing to turn back?

Deciding not to dwell on that, Fubuki scanned the waters for any sign of fish.

Once in a while, the water would shimmer slightly from silver scales. Fubuki watched for the telltale sign of fish.

The water rippled.

Silver flashed.

Fubuki swiped out his paw.

The fish landed on shore near the water, wriggling.

Just as Fubuki made to do the killing blow, the fish slid back into the water. He hesitated too much.

He needed to be firmer in his decision-making. Like Atsuya, who barged into everything without second thought. He should be firm _and_ thoughtful at the same time. Yep. He should.

Kudou always told him he hesitated too much.

Now this was a good chance to push the hesitating bit in away.

More silver flashed in the water.

He swiped out his paw once again.

The fish landed on shore, wriggling.

Fubuki dealt with the killing blow immediately.

He'd successfully caught his second prey.

He soon finished his meal and continued to explore the unfamiliar part of the forest.

OoOoOoOoO

When he returned to the lodge, everyone was having lunch. Just like yesterday. How good was his timing?

"Good timing, Fubuki-kun," Hiroto said. He was sitting at the same table as Gouenji and Someoka. Strange. They usually didn't sit like that. **(A/N: Suitors of Fubuki Trio LOL)**

"Your eyes look different," Gouenji said, tiling his head with a finger and staring at him closely. Their noses were almost touching. They were _so close_…

"You look cool like this, ya know? Someoka said, breaking the moment with his deep harsh voice.

"Thanks," Fubuki said, managing to keep the disappointment from his tone.

"Do you want anything, Fubuki-kun?" Fuyuka asked.

"No thanks. I ate already," he replied, settling under the table next to Gouenji's feet once again.

OoOoOoOoO

After lunch, Fubuki went out to the forest again. He found a pond and spent the next two hours swimming.

Being a wolf could sure be boring.

There wasn't anything in particular to do.

There wasn't even anything he _could_ do!

He couldn't play soccer, he couldn't snowboard… suddenly, homework seemed like an extremely appealing idea. Fubuki never hated school, but he despised what came after each school day. Homework. It was boring, annoying and time-consuming. It prevented him from having longer soccer practice periods, from having more time to do his snow sports, from spending more time with his friends. But now homework was like entertainment, relieve of his boredom. He wished he _had_ something to do. He wished he could so something so he wouldn't be so useless, so he wouldn't be a nuisance to the team. He wished that he could spend more time with Gouenji, just to run beside him on the field as a human, or just to play a round of Inazuma Strikers together.

_You think too much, Shirou,_ Shirou could imagine Atsuya's snide comment. _You've been head over heels for Gouenji for ages but you still don't have to guts to confess… Just confront him or something once you have the chance. Don't make me push you towards him so you two would kiss "accidentally"._

Fubuki face-palmed mentally. Yes. Atsuya could be annoying sometimes, but he did have good advice occasionally. But as Midorikawa would have said, some things were easier said than done.

He hauled himself from the pond and shook the water from his fur, suddenly realizing that he had lost the urge to bark or howl.

He shook his head to clear away the strange thoughts, and began his way back.

As he raced through the maze of trees, barely keeping track of where he was going, only by his previous trail of scent. He ran with the wind, for few times in his life, he actually enjoyed running on soil. Back in Hokkaido, moving across the snow on his ice skates would seem that he became the wind, sharpening his senses, everything a blur of white around him, sliding forwards on the smooth ice with uncontrollably high speed, moving forwards by merely leaning forwards and pushing the ice with a foot. But this was different. He was on dry, warm ground, claws digging into the soil under his paws, preventing him from slipping, going faster than he ever had before, trees turning into blobs of brown and green. He now felt that he had truly become the wind, running along the flow of air. Suddenly, it occurred to him that he and Kazemaru could work on something together. They could try and combine their speed. He wondered vaguely what kind of technique would be born. When he had managed to change back, they should try something together.

OoOoOoOoO

Fubuki ran all the way back to the edge of the forest. Unable to stop, he half-raced the way back to the soccer field, where the others were having a water break.

"Hey Fubuki-kun!" Hiroto waved at him before gulping water from his bottle.

"Everyone!" Haruna said, clapping her hands. "We have post from Japan!"

"Post!" Endou said excitedly. "I wonder how Handa and the others are doing!"

"Well, here's the answer," Aki said, handing him a letter. The address was written in Handa's handwriting.

The members from Raimon crowded around Endou to read the message from their teammates in Tokyo.

Fubuki sat down next to the bench, quietly listening to the conversations around him.

Hiroto had received a letter from Midorikawa, along with photos of his friends in Sun Garden and a photo of his adoptive father in prison, making a v-sign with his fingers from behind the cell bars, a wide smile on his round face. Hiroto seemed that he didn't know if he should smile at his father's optimism or cry from missing him. Fubuki could tell by the slight twitching of his mouth and his irregular breathing.

"You have mail too, Fubuki-kun," Fuyuka said, smiling at him as she dropped a letter between his front paws.

With slight difficulty, Fubuki slit the envelope open with a claw and carefully tipped out the contents. It was a letter with a photo of all his friends at Hakuren grinning and giving thumb-ups at the camera. He suddenly realized how much he missed his friends. Choking back an emotional lump in his throat, he unfolded the sheet of paper that was covered with Konko's handwriting. It said:

_Dearest Fubuki-kun,_

_How are you doing in Lincott Island? Is the weather hot there? We all miss you so much! (And I miss your miso ramen. Kitami-kun's are no good at all.) Everything feels different without you. How's your leg? It just recovered, so don't push yourself too hard~ You haven't been overworking yourself, have you? It won't do you any good if you get hurt again so quickly. _

_Everything is doing great in Hakuren, aside from a severe blizzard that prevented us from soccer practice two days ago. Last week, I finally figured out a hissatsu of my own! It's called! I'll definitely show it to you when you get back!_

_Yesterday, Sorano-kun, Kitami-kun and me saw a wolf standing outside your house! He was very big and pretty. His fur was pinkish and his eyes were the same colour asyours. But the weird thing was, he sort of grinned at us and disappeared! He didn't walk away. He _faded away_ like a ghost! When we went closer to look, there weren't even any paw marks in the snow! It was _so weird_! Now rumors are going on that your house is haunted with wolf ghosts. And I don't think so. ^_^ You have a nice house, really._

_Everyone looks forward to your next match! Do your best and enjoy everything! We will always support you! No matter what obstacle is in front of you, we're sure that you can overcome it in time, because you have very good friends with you! Good luck! Remember what perfection means! Be like the wind!_

_Gotta go now. I need to help Sorano-kun with his English homework! I'll write to you again very soon! Bye!_

_Yours truly ,_

_Konko,_

_Hakuren Junior High Soccer team_

_Hakuren Junior High Year 2 Class B_

_P.S. Please reply as soon as possible! Everyone is eager to hear from you!_

Fubuki swallowed, fighting down tears that threatened to escape. He didn't really notice how much his missed everyone back in Japan. He'd grown up with them, played with them since elementary school. They even spent weeks comforting him after his family's death. He was undeniably close with them.

He snuck a glance at everyone around him. Next to him, Endou was bawling his eyes out after reading his letter from his parents.

He guessed that it was okay to cry.

As Fubuki finally gave in and let his eyes cloud with tears, he faintly wondered if the pink wolf was his brother. The same coloured eyes, pink fur and signature grin… it was all way too obvious. So Atsuya inherited the wolf DNA too, huh.

After Atsuya died, Fubuki would occasionally see Atsuya standing in front of their house, grinning at him briefly, then disappearing into thin air, until he began to wear Atsuya's scarf, Atsuya stopped appearing, but he was in him, inside his head. What if… Atsuya's spirit roamed the earth once more? Do ghosts go through puberty too…?

His thoughts flew back to his friends in Hakuren. They'd done so much for him… and cared for him so much… Even with all he put them through… they still stayed with him all along… Fubuki sniffed quietly and rubbed his wet eyes with the backside of his paw. The tears soaked through his pale gray fur, darkening it with the moisture. He lowered his head so his chin touched the ground, trying not to let anyone see him cry.

There was a warm pressure on his back, and Gouenji's rich, comforting scent surrounded him. Fubuki lowered his head and let the human tears fall freely. Gouenji's warm hand rubbed gentle circles on his back. They didn't need to speak. The flame striker's mere presence comforted him.

Fubuki moved his head slightly so his head was on one of Gouenji's lap. His way of a silent thanks.

Gouenji's hand rested onto his head, stroking his pointed, furry ears. Fubuki looked up to see Gouenji's own eyes watering. A clear, salty-smelling drop of liquid rolled down a tanned cheek. Fubuki tilted up his face and licked the tear away.

A small smile broke out on Gouenji's face and he hugged Fubuki, face deep in his fur. "Thanks," he mumbled, pulling him closer, showing a rare emotional side. Fubuki could feel his eyelashes brush against his fur, his steady heartbeat slowly matching his own.

Unable to return the hug, Fubuki put his head on top of Gouenji's shoulder, nuzzling his hair with his nose.

And so the two stayed like that for the next fifteen minutes.

OoOoOoOoO

Dinner was rather quiet. Everyone was recovering from his or her letters from home and some of them were still clutching tissues. The two managers from Raimon (A/N Remember Natsumi was on investigation! XD) were the worst. They spent half of dinnertime crying their eyes out.

Fubuki and Gouenji, unable to stand the depressing atmosphere and Tsunami trying to cheer everyone up cracking bad jokes, left dinner midway to go to the beach for some peace and quiet together.

They sat on the powdery sand in silence, just watching the dark blue waves wash across the beach, leaving the sand soaking and glistening in the faint moonlight when they pulled back towards the ocean.

The scuttling of a crab reached Fubuki's sensitive ears. He jumped out of the way as a crab came crawling out from a hole from the sand underneath him.

He settled back down next to Gouenji when the crab left hurriedly, clicking its pincers and scuttling horizontally across the sand towards the water, letting the waves wash over it, soaking its shell, making it shine in the moonlight, soon disappearing into the ocean.

"I miss Yuuka," Gouenji said, his voice cracking.

Fubuki nodded. "I miss everyone in Hakuren."

There was an awkward pause when neither knew what to say.

Then Gouenji broke the silence. "Should we get back?"

"As you wish," Fubuki replied. "But I'm not going inside, unless Tsunami-kun stops his jokes."

Gouenji gave a small chuckle. "Yeah."

To be continued

**Uwaaaaaah extremely lazy ending… Retarded Goufubu scene… Now I'm the Retarded Bookworm (as Maaya Zulaikha have said on Facebook) LOL okay whatever people. Just remeber to review I don't mind whether you're here to flame me to cinders or what I just want you guys to tell me what you think and what I can do to improve so you can have a more enjoyable reading experience! PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU!**

**Okay. Retarded Bookworm's rant over.**

**Now press the review button below. Thankies~ ^_^**


	3. Day 3

**Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah! Really late update! I'm so sorry, everyone! Sorry for making you guys wait! I got stuck in the middle, you see. It wasn't until later I had the idea of Ros- Okay. No spoilers. Read on! Read on! I don't own IE!**

The warmth of sunlight streamed into the room through the window, splashing onto Fubuki's pale grey fur. He sat up on the floorboards, bathing in the early beams of the sun. He widened his fanged mouth in a soundless yawn. He'd barely slept last night. Fudou was playing some hard metal music in his room, which was just next to Fubuki's. Fubuki knew that the volume wasn't supposed to be very loud, but the low thudding beats of the base drums continued on into the night, and with Fubuki's magnified hearing, it was just plain torture.

Another anti-soccer day, he thought, stretching out a hind leg. Why did he have to inherit the DNA? Why oh why oh whyyyyyyy… Arghhhhhhhhh…

Fubuki glanced at his clock on the small bedside table. 6:00 am. Again. He sat down on the wooden floorboards, studying his front paws, bored. Wait. There seemed to be something different about them. Fubuki looked at them closely and sniffed at them suspiciously. His paws were now a cross between ands and paws. They were fingered, but covered with pale grey fur, and his nails were so long and curved that they resembled claws. It was a strangely gross sight.

He'd have to be careful not to scare anyone today, especially Haruna, or Kidou would tan his hide and he would wallow in misery and pain forever and ever into eternity.

He twisted his head to check his hind paws, to find that his paws now resembled fur-covered toes with claw-like nails.

It was horrible. Plain horrible.

Great. People would really freak out if they noticed. Now he hated his part- human form more than ever. He wasn't a wolf. He wasn't a human. He was a freaking werewolf that was a cross of both.

Sighing mentally, he twisted the doorknob with his right hand-paw and padded out to the corridor silently, trying his best to conceal is hideous hands by scrunching them up.

Fubuki walked down the stairs carefully and into the empty living room, only to find that it wasn't empty.

Someoka's husky, sweaty scent drifted over to him. The pink-haired striker's heavy breathing was unnaturally loud to him, filling the whole room with its harsh sounds.

Fubuki peeked at Someoka from behind a wall. He was facing away from him, looking out to the window. Fubuki sneaked into the living room quietly, careful not to make any noise. He placed his hand-paws carefully in front of him, taking step by step slowly. He took great care not to let his claws scrape the floor. He lifted his tail slightly from the floorboards, so as not to let it brush on the wood.

His heart pounded as he crept upon his friend. The wood was smooth and cool underneath him.

Finally. He was just a few feet away. He crouched down, gathering strength in his hind legs. And he launched himself at Someoka.

Someoka "oof"ed in surprise as he bundled into his back..

"What the heck do you think you're doing, you huge furry ball?"

Fubuki blinked innocently at him, widening his eyes, knowing that it could melt people easily. "Just wanted to say good morning. I guess I ran a bit too fast."

"Too fast my ass," Someoka grumbled, ruffling his fur roughly, a light pink dusting his tan cheeks. "Stop showing off."

"Am not. Just wanted to surprise you, really. I was also practicing my prey-stalking skills. If I don't do some practice, I'll end up with no food. And I'm very sure you won't want that to happen~"

Someoka "hmph"ed and patted the space on the sofa next to him, looking away awkwardly.

Fubuki smiled inwardly and settled down next to his friend. "Yes?"

Someoka was silent for a while. "You spend way too much time with Gouenji. And Hiroto."

"Are you jealous?" Fubuki asked rather bluntly.

"… no…"

"Are you sure?"

"… well… maybe I am. To be honest."

"Well, here I am, to spend time with you." Fubuki gave his friend a wolfy smile. "You can be honest with me too."

Someoka grinned back at him. "So… how's life?"

"Boring. Nothing much, really."

"What do you do in there, I mean in the forest?"

"I never told you?"

Someoka huffed impatiently. "No. Apparently you were only opening yourself up to Gouenji. We're friends too, right?"

Fubuki nodded. "Yeah. I just mainly run around, do a bit of exploring, and hunt in the woods. Really boring. So… How's soccer practice?"

"Tough. That old guy wants us to come up with something new. Said that what we have now isn't enough."

"Have you tried anything yet?"

"Yeah. Gouenji and I tried to work on something new together, but we kept getting duds."

"How about you try something with Hijikata-kun?"

"Did that too. But seems that super four-legged stamps and dragons don't mix."

Fubuki laughed aloud since two days. "What about trying out with Kazemaru-kun? Or Hiroto-kun?"

Someoka sighed. "Nothing seems to work."

Fubuki blinked sympathetically. "I'm sure it will. Just you wait. I'll be back in practice in no time."

"Yeah." Someoka placed a hand on the top of his head.

A new scent drifted over. Fubuki turned around to see Fuyuka behind them. "Good morning," he said, struggling to hide his hand-paws.

"Morning," she replied, smiling at the both of them. "Do you want to go out, Fubuki-kun?"

"Yes, I do. Can you open the door for me?" Fubuki asked, unconsciously putting up his puppy-wolf face.

Fuyuka giggled and nodded her approval. "Sure!"

"See you later at lunch, then, Someoka-kun," Fubuki said, nuzzling his friend briefly before turning to follow the purple-haired girl out of the lodge.

OoOoOoOoO

He ought to get himself his own territory. It was no good just wandering around. Best to have a small area just to himself. Even though Lincott Island was just temporary, he needed somewhere stable, a place to stay at.

Fubuki made his way through the forest once again, this time slowly, drinking in all the scents around him, picking up all the sounds nearby. He needed somewhere away from Charles's pack, or he'd risk Charles getting angry at him for stealing his future territory, or Sandy having all over him. And it should be somewhere usually undetected by larger animals like bears, with a source of water.

Leaping over a log, Fubuki slid into the undergrowth, scaring a few birds in the process.

A familiar smell hit him. Charles. So this was part of Charles's territory. Fubuki quickly retreated for his personal safety.

He weaved around the maze of trees, keeping alert for unclaimed territory and attackers.

Once or twice, a strange scent reached him, mostly at places near rivers and lakes. It was strange to describe, a little water-ish, wet scent, somewhat a bit like a cross between a turtle and a duck (A/N: Kappas! XD). Wary of the unknown creature, Fubuki stayed away from it.

Finally, he was faced with completely unfamiliar land. Here, the thicket was much denser, and there was no scent of other animals that may compete for territory with him. Steeling his nerves and pricking his ears, he stepped through the overhead canopy of leaves and branches to a large clearing. Sunlight flowed onto the stretch of tall grass, splashing into the pond in the center, making its smooth surface reflect the bright light. Butterflies waltzed through the air, dancing among the brilliantly coloured flowers that grew in clusters in the grass. The trees around the clearing spoke of life and joy. (A/N: Oh, since when have I been so sentimental?)

A sudden rush of possessiveness surged through Fubuki. Never had he ever felt something as strong as that. He suddenly had the urge to mark the place as his own. Stalking proudly, albeit out-of-character-ed-ly, into the clearing, he marked his own scent around the large patch of grass.

Fubuki made himself comfortable on the grass, lazily watching the branches above him sway in the light breeze, dappling the soft grass with golden light from the sun.

A couple of squirrels scurried down the trunk of a towering oak, chattering and chasing each other in circles on the grass. They skipped over to Fubuki, curiously sniffing out his tail. Fubuki smiled inwardly and swept his tail lazily over the grass. Startled, the two animals hopped away, but remained at a distance.

This was sure a nice spot.

He suddenly felt tired. Really tired. Probably from the previous sleepless night and his too-early wake-up habit. He made himself comfortable in the grass, curling up in a shaded spot. His eyes drooped shut and his consciousnesses faded into the all-consuming darkness, weightless and boundless.

OoOoOoOoO

Fubuki woke from his nap, wishing that he didn't. He was having one of the best dreams he ever had. In his dream, he was back in his human form, playing soccer. With Gouenji. Just Gouenji…

He was almost embarrassed.

His heart beat faster when he thought about the flame striker once again.

Great. Now he was being really, really weird. And he was already weird to start with. He had split personality disorder, he talked to his dead twin brother mentally, and said dead twin brother used to constantly possess him, he saw ghosts, wore scarves when it was 30 degrees Celsius, his hair could change shape on its own accord, then he found out that he was a werewolf, and he was gay. And he was gay for someone totally his opposite. He was shy, passive and a perfectionist, and his element was snow/ice based, while Gouenji was calm, brave and extremely passionate about soccer. Not to mention that he was a fire-based person.

Now he was _asking_ to be melted.

Fubuki snorted at his own lame gag. But hey, it sort of made sense. If he really, _really_ liked Gouenji, and Gouenji really, _really _liked him too, then Gouenji would be melting him in water soon enough. Then it won't be Eternal Blizzard anymore. Maybe Eternal Tsunami. What kind of name was that…? Fubuki mentally face-palmed. He was probably thinking too much. And his thoughts were getting more and more random by each passing minute.

Without soccer, homework or studies to concentrate on, his mind was wandering over matters he usually didn't go into. Fubuki wondered vaguely if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Maybe it was a good thing, and he'd be contemplating every single matter in life if he stayed stuck in this four-legged, furry, tailed form, then he could become a philosopher. And continue contemplating every single matter in life until he died. How nice. Not.

Or maybe it was a bad thing. He'd think too much, then get into depression (again) and start tormenting himself over every little tiny problem he had. Oh, and then he might start wearing Atsuya's scarf, and Atsuya starts possessing him again. Then Endou and Gouenji would have to start their soccer therapy sessions all over again (which includes getting hit in the gut by flaming soccer balls, and given motivational speeches once every fifteen minutes). Or something.

Now he _was_ really thinking too much.

But, having time to think like this was kind of nice.

However, it has its ups and downs.

Like roller coasters. When those trains/carts went up the hill, it'll crawl slowly, slowly upwards in a snail pace that gets you impatient. When you looked down, everything would be the size of sesame seeds, the when it reaches the top, it'll sort of give a little jolt, then fly down the rail at breakneck speed. You could practically feel yourself floating up in your seat, to shoot up into the air and fall down to the ground way, way below… but just before you manage fly off into space to find Uldiva's space penguins, the seatbelt around you would keep you safe, and you'd just end up either screaming your head off or whooping like a maniac.

And talking about roller coaster riders whooping like maniacs, that sounded like something Atsuya would do. Like the time he first scored a goal with Eternal Blizzard, he whooped so loudly that Fubuki swore people from the other side of the town could hear his twin brother yelling, "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I DID IT WHOOOOOOT I DID IT I DID IT! WOOOOOO HOOOOO! LOOK BRO I ROCK THE SAKKA FIELD YESSSSSSS!"

Plus, not to mention that Hiroto has the habit of shouting "Yo man!" when he scores a goal or wins a match when playing Wii Strikers.

And apparently, the virtual Fubuki in the Inazuma Eleven NDS game had the tendency to summersault and punch the air whenever he scores a goal, and, the most notable fact was that, virtual Gouenji was almost always next to him, randomly jumping and clapping.

Okay. Were was he?

Standing up, Fubuki stretched every single limb slowly. He wanted to hunt. Slinking out into the forest, Fubuki began to look for small animals. Surprisingly, there wasn't much prey today. He couldn't hear much of the rustling of bushes, or the low, scratching noises of paws underground.

He caught a faint whiff of rabbit.

Silently, he followed the scent, finally finding its source.

It was unaware of the danger behind it, just casually hopping here and there, nibbling the grass here, sniffing a flower there. A plan immediately came to his mind. He would stalk the rabbit, then corner it at a greater stretch of land. Then it wouldn't have any place to hide in. He could give chase and catch it.

The rabbit's ears twitched as it listened to nearby dangers. Fubuki became still. Absolutely still. He stopped all his movements, holding his breath, freezing his entire being into a statue. The rabbit seemed to shrug nonchalantly, still not noticing Fubuki just a few meters away, then bound to a tree base to nibble at a mushroom growing there.

The wind direction was perfect. Fubuki could sniff out the rabbit's forest-ish, meaty smell easily, but it couldn't scent him.

Slowly, the rabbit hopped towards the river, still unaware of Fubuki, standing right there behind him, all wolfly calmness and posture. Fubuki never knew that he could be that patient.

Finally, the rabbit's backside was completely facing him. Fubuki snuck up onto it soundlessly, springing upon it. The rabbit, startled, started to escape, but he was faster. He caught up easily in two bounds, pinning the animal to the ground with a paw. He closed his eyes and gave the killing bite, splattering blood over the nearby grass – as well as his muzzle – in the process.

Hunting status: Success.

Picking up his kill, he moved to behind a bush to eat his meal.

OoOoOoOoO

A new scent washed over him, and there was a rustle in the bushes near him.

Fubuki pricked his ears, feeling himself growing alert.

A pair of black beady eyes blinked from the darkness of the bush, and their owner slid out from behind the ferns.

It was a fox.

Its red and white fur glowing softly in the dappled sunlight, and there was something… pretty about its long, thin face, completed with those small, black eyes. It was smaller than he was, but not by much.

"It's Fubuki Shirou-chan, isn't it?" A girl's voice came from the fox's open jaws.

"H-how do you know?"

"Oh, I listen. Please… can I share the rabbit with you? I'm hungry, and I can't find any prey…"

"Sure… but who are you?"

"My name," the fox said. "Is Rosie. I'm a werefox. To be honest, I've been sort of following you for these three days."

Fubuki nodded, trying to seem friendly. Internally, he was worried. What was about this Rosie? Why did she, this werefox, have to try to befriend him, a werewolf? And what's with the stalking? He had a bad feeling about this.

"So… please? May I?" Rosie took a step closer towards him. Her voice had become slightly breathy, like she was trying to seduce him or something.

"Y-yeah… sure?" Fubuki took a step back, quickly on guard. There was something weird about this girl werefox called Rosie, and he didn't like it. He usually liked the company of girls, but this particular one made him feel uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. He tore the rabbit into half, giving Rosie the bigger half. "Here," he said, trying to sound friendly. "Have this half."

"Thank you~" Rosie said. "Thank you so much~" She happily picked up the piece of flesh, and began to eat.

"No problem," Fubuki said. "I'll find another place to eat, then." He picked up his own half and made to walk away, but a soft touch of Rosie's paw on his flank made him pause.

"Stay here with me, Shirou-chan," Rosie crooned in a sickly sweet tone, long-lashed black eyes fluttering rapidly. "Please, Shirou-chan~"

Inwardly, Fubuki wanted to turn away from this flirty fox, but he forced himself to put up a friendly act. "Sure," he said quickly. "And please, just call me Fubuki."

"But doesn't Shirou sound sweeter? Ne, Shirou-chan?" Rosie trilled.

"Only my mother will call me Shirou-chan. And you're not my mother," Fubuki couldn't contain himself anymore. This was too much.

"But won't you allow a cute, pretty girl like me to?"

"Only my mother will call me Shirou-chan," Fubuki repeated. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you can't call me that."

"Whyyyy?" Rosie questioned in that sicky sweet voice of hers.

Fubuki did not answer, but took a step backwards.

"Whyyyy?" There was a pale pink flash, and an extremely shapely, beautiful fourteen-year-old girl was pouting at him, a lock of brownish red waist-length hair falling into her large, black, thickly-lashed eyes. She shifted her position on the ground, so he had a full view of her huge cleavage, barely covered by her deep neck spaghetti strap red gypsy dress.

Unaffected by her attempt to seduce him, he calmly picked up his piece of rabbit, whipped around, and stalked into the bushes. He wouldn't fall for that foxgirl, when he already had his eyes on Gouenji. He didn't care how sexy or pretty this Rosie was; she held no interest for him, well she might, if she had spiky platinum blond hair, slanted dark liquid brown eyes that burned with internal flames, or if she was taller than he was, and had a deep, reassuring voice, and was the ace striker of Inazuma Japan, who'd helped him to revive his true self, who'd pulled him back into his right mind with his rough, tanned, warm hand.

Which Rosie is none of the above. Okay. Maybe she played soccer, but it was impossible that she was the fiery, passionate ace of their team.

He proceeded to chow down his food, undisturbed by the strange werefox.

OoOoOoOoO

The afternoon seemed to stretch on forever. Fubuki could sense Rosie constantly nearby, perhaps behind a rose bush, or just on the other side of the river, barely concealed among the green, leafy plants, bright red-brown fur standing out, or peeking out at him from behind a tree trunk. That girl was getting annoying.

Before he knew it, he'd come to the brow of a hill just a little way off the forest. There, he had the full view of the sea, and the sunset. He was just starting to admire the beauty of the scene, when he heard Rosie's footsteps behind him.

He lost his patience. "Rosie! Stop following me!"

"Whyyyy?" Rosie said breathlessly.

"Look, if you really feel like seducing someone, why don't you just find some other guy down in Red Matador's lodge?"

"But I like you. And you only," Rosie whispered. "I need you by my side." Her voice seemed convincing enough, but the scent of slyness hung around her, and Fubuki wasn't fooled.

"I'm sorry, then. I like someone else. Go find someone more handsome," Fubuki bit back a snarl. This Rosie was really getting on his nerves. And now she was trying to use him for something. He could tell.

"But-"

"That's enough!" Fubuki growled. It took all his human control to fight down the wild desire to tear the offending werefox to pieces.

"You don't have to pretend." Rosie murmured. "Let your feelings flow. I know you do like me. I know you love me. That's why you're acting like this. I know you better than you think."

"You're so wrong then," Fubuki let his long-hidden sense of sarcasm flow instead of his 'feelings for Rosie'. "I just met you today. How do you expect me to fall in love with you at first sight? I like someone else already, and I'm sick of you trying to seduce me."

"Is that so?" Rosie's fox eyes narrowed, and she sprang towards him. From her movements of her lower body, Fubuki could tell that she was trying to force him to mate with her. Snarling, he fled down the hill, pelting into the forest at full speed. He could hear Rosie giving chase. And damn, she was fast. She was catching up in no time, and trees leapt out of her way when she ran.

Then he realized.

Rosie had magic. She was probably a fox witch, not a werefox.

Damn.

DAMN.

Spotting a large boulder, he raced over and hid behind it, hoping that she wouldn't see him.

He could smell Rosie's scent, becoming human. He could see her bright red gypsy dress flowing in the forest breeze and she held a broom in a hand; pink magic crackling in another. "You can't escape from me, little werewolf," her voice grew louder as she drew closer. "I'll change you back into a human, and I'll make you mine."

As quietly and quickly as he could, he turned and shot towards the exit of the forest.

"Aha! Found you!" Rosie's voice came from not far behind. There was a whistle of wind, and she was speeding towards him on her broom, red hair flying out behind her, shining with pink magic. It was a strangely beautiful but terrifying sight.

Fubuki bunched up his muscles, and he forced himself to run faster and faster. Who knows what that witch was going to do with him?

The stretch of trees seemed to last for eternity.

He finally burst out of the trees, right into a shocked Gouenji. "Gouenji-kun! Be careful!" He knocked Gouenji out of the way just as Rosie flew out two seconds later, her surprisingly strong hands holding tight to his body. Snarling, Fubuki twisted his neck to bite her hands, but she held on tighter. He couldn't do anything, except to kick and struggle fruitlessly.

"You. What are you doing to Fubuki?" Gouenji's voice was deathly calm. Knowing Gouenji well enough, Fubuki felt the flame striker's worry and anger boil under the calm façade.

"Not much," Rosie shrugged, still holding on to him. "Just claiming my future husband."

"Future husband?" Gouenji repeated in that calm tone.

"Yes. I've claimed Shirou-chan here as my husband."

"Says who?" Fubuki spat, seizing the chance to kick her in the arm. "We just met today. I don't like you. And stop calling me Shirou-chan."

"Says me," Rosie said, head high, hair flying.

"I say no," Gouenji continued. "Hand Fubuki over. He is not yours."

Rosie's eyes narrowed, the magic in her hair crackling. "He. Is. Mine. MINE." A sharp bolt of magic struck the ground between the two of them.

"I don't think Fubuki agrees to that," Gouenji said, his eyebrows furrowing. The internal flame in his eyes burned brighter. "And I would not allow that either."

"Gouenji-kun!" Fubuki gasped.

"Nice friend you got there, haven't you?" Rosie taunted. "Take this!" Another bolt of pink magic shot out of her hair, heading straight for Gouenji, who calmly avoided it. The magic hit a tree behind him, snapping it into two.

"Don't have a sharp eye for aiming, do you?" Gouenji gave a wry smile. Flames were burning from his left foot, and the fire in his eyes glowed impossibly brighter. "You don't have the right to claim him as you own, you bitch," Gouenji's calm expression distorted at the insulting word. "You don't even have the qualification to _touch_ Fubuki. Give my teammate back."

"You…" Rosie reddened in rage, the colour rivaling that of her revealing dress. "You…!" More magic flew from her hair.

But Gouenji was faster. With a strong swipe of his leg, he set Rosie's dress on fire.

As the witch was screaming, Gouenji helped Fubuki up, and the two ran from the scene together.

They both stopped at the beach. Gouenji plopped down onto the sand, and Fubuki sat down beside him.

"What do you think you were doing?" Gouenji asked. "Running into that… girl?"

"I didn't try to run into her!" Fubuki protested. "SHE tried to flirt with me in the first place!"

"She's dangerous! Can't you tell?" Fustration burned in Gouenji's eyes.

"I can! I know she's someone dodgy! That's why I was running FROM her! She was trying to seduce me this whole afternoon! And not to mention that she's stalked me these three days!"

"Stalker fangirl," Gouenji muttered.

"Stalker Fox Witch," Fubuki corrected.

The smallest of smiles broke out on Gouenji's face. "But I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm glad _you're _okay. That Rosie's insane."

Gouenji hugged Fubuki gently. "Heh," he said quietly.

"Say, why are you out here? Don't you have practice?"

"Practice ended early. Wanted to wait for you."

"…ah…"

"Let's go back," Gouenji said, standing up.

"Un," Fubuki agreed, rising up to follow his crush back to the lodge, with a warm, fluttering feeling in his chest.

**There. Remember to review, everyone! Your comments mean a lot to me, and pointing out my mistakes helps to improve my English! Thank you! XD For more information, please visit my tumblr bookworm868(.)tumblr(.)com! Bye!**


	4. Day 4

**Due to a playlist named "The Friggin Crossfire Duo", which consists of all Miyano Mamoru songs and Nojima Hirofumi songs I have, ddthe rest of this chapter was pooped out in a few days' time.**

** There will be slightly graphic content, so, my younger readers, beware… XD**

** Just kidding~ This is still rated T!**

** So.**

** I don't own Inazuma Eleven or any of its characters. I only own my perverted brain and retarded plots. Thank you.**

** Let us begin!**

Fubuki woke the next morning to the warm pressure of something on his back, and something around his body. He roused himself mentally to turn towards the pressure.

It was Gouenji, his head propped onto his back, arms encircling his body.

The flame ace was asleep, the normally blazing dark brown eyes closed, his chest rising and falling gently in his sleep. A few strands of platinum blond hair fell over his face, which for once, lost its fierce, cool expression, instead, a calm, tranquil one replacing the fiery façade.

Fubuki smiled mentally, nosing the messy, un-geled hair of his crush affectionately. Gouenji smelled peaceful, content, deep in his slumber.

He threw the clock at Gouenji's bedside table a glance. 6:30 am.

Oh why.

Why so early again.

Not like he was wide-awake anyway.

And Kudou's promised them a holiday today, which meant that he could sleep in.

Making himself comfortable on the flame striker's bed, he rested his head on Gouenji's rump, falling asleep once more.

OoOoOoOoO

"_Together…"_

"_We'll be perfect!"_

"_YEAH~"_

_A low rumbling interrupted the twins' cheer._

_The Fubukis all looked frantically out of the car, to see the fatal blanket of snow flow down the hill._

"_Avalanche!" His mother screamed. "Shirou-chan, Atsuya-chan, get out of the car!"_

_Shirou could just sit, frozen in his seat as the avalanche descended upon the family of four, ready to take them away from this world._

"_Onii-chan! ONII-CHAN!" came Atsuya's shout._

_The next thing Shirou knew, his seatbelt was unbuckled, and the door at his side of the rear seat had opened with a click, then he was tumbling out of the car, rolling down the gentle slope covered with snow._

_When he finally slowed down, stopded a rock, all he could see was a pile of snow over his family._

_Nothing more._

_Later, the doctors and nurses told him that his family was gone._

_He'd lost his family._

_He could never be perfect._

_He was alone._

_He was-_

"…ubuki… Fubuki. Fubuki~"

A familiar voice jolted Fubuki out of his nightmare. A deep, reassuring voice.

He opened his eyes to see Gouenji propped up on his elbow on the bed, messy platinum blond hair falling over his eyes, smiling ever so slightly.

Then Fubuki realized that he was still resting his head on Gouenji's backside. "S-sorry…"

"Is fine. It's already 8:30. Way past the time you'd usually get up. Are you okay?"

Fubuki shifted into a curled position at Gouenji's side, putting his chin between his paws instead. "Uh… yeah."

"You were whimpering in your sleep."

Fubuki mentally cringed. "It's nothing."

"You can't lie to me. You know that," Gouenji returned.

"Really. It was nothing."

"My guess is that you're having a nightmare," the flame striker said dryly.

"… yeah. And I'm fine, okay?"

"Whatever you say."

OoOoOoOoO

"SHOPPING~" The three managers squealed together, before grabbing their purses and rushing out of the door, leaving the boys' mouths hanging open.

"Okay then," Kudou sighed. "You guys take care of your own lunch. Don't get hurt, it's just a week until our match against Unicorn, and I want you all to be in your best condition."

"Yes sir!"

With that, Endou had Kazemaru and Hiroto running after him out into the soccer field, Kidou and Sakuma off into town, Tachimukai, Tsunami and Toramaru down the beach for surfing, and everyone else just basically returning to their rooms to read, or off to the living room for a few rounds of Inazuma Strikers without Hiroto around.

Gouenji and Fubuki's eyes met, and the flame striker gave a crooked smile, jerking his head towards the door. Fubuki nodded, and he bounded out the doorway and onto the path, wagging his tail as fluidly as possible, to signal that he was just playing.

Gouenji chuckled, and jogged out of the door after him, and Fubuki padded down the road, looking back everyone now and then to check that his fellow striker was following him closely.

He led him to the edge of the forest.

"Let's go in." Gouenji said simply.

Fubuki complied, and stepped into the woods. Leaves rustled as Gouenji stepped onto the ground. It was a lot noisier with Gouenji beside him in the trees, the pure human's footsteps cracking twigs, crunching on leaves, or occasionally kicking aside small stones, sending whispers of soil skittering over the ground. But it was okay, in a way, that the sounds let Fubuki know that his best friend on the team was following closely.

He brought Gouenji into his clearing, and they sat down together in the center of the patch of soft grass, back to back, basking in the warm morning sun, enjoying the quietness of the moment, the calmness of the scene before them.

There was one brief moment when they leaned against each other, and Fubuki could feel Gouenji's slow, steady heartbeats.

For the next few minutes, they were silent, just occasionally shifting from their positions on the grass, either stretching cramped joints or releasing a sigh or two.

Half an hour later had Gouenji lying flat on his back, shoes kicked off, Fubuki curled up at his side, like a dog would beside his master. The flame striker's right hand was deep in Fubuki's neck fur, and he was surprised at how good it felt to have the large, warm hand at the roots of his fur, slowly and gently rubbing that particular spot that sent pleasure rippling from his neck to the tip of his tail.

"Fubuki," Gouenji says, the first to break the silence. "Tell me. What's it like to be a wolf."

"You get to see things in a different perspective."

"I see."

"And… you realize things you usually don't."

"… huh."

"Un."

They were silent again, quietly enjoying each other's company.

"I miss you being on the team. I miss talking with you," Gouenji suddenly said.

"But I'm talking to you-"

"You don't understand," Gouenji interrupted. "Ever since the FFI, Toramaru's been sticking to me like leech, and you've got yourself Hiroto. We hardly talk _properly_ like this."

"I thought you liked having Toramaru-kun around," Fubuki whispered. "Don't you like Toramaru-kun? You were too… _busy_ to make time for me anyways. I don't want to be alone, so why not make a new friend?"  
>"Give me five good reasons why I want Toramaru around."<p>

"He's a strong player. He seems really outgoing and fun to be with. He's a kind person. He's cute, I guess. And…" Fubuki trailed off, flicking his tail and turning away, refusing to meet the flame striker's eyes.

"And what?" Gouenji asked quietly.

"He loves you. I know that. You know that. Everyone knows."

"So?"

"Of course you'd like to have him around. Well, his company would be better than mine, at least."

"Why would you think so?"

"He's definitely more interesting than I am. So I'd better get out of the way. Hiroto-kun's alone without Midorikawa-kun too, so why not get closer to him? You've got Captain, Kidou-kun and Kazemaru-kun. I thought you'd have forgotten about me. I'm not someone worth remember anyways."

"Fubuki Shirou." Gouenji's voice was deadly calm. "Are you out of your mind?"

"What if I am? What if I'm not? Not like anyone would really care."

"Fubuki-" Gouenji started, but Fubuki couldn't control all the words bottled up inside him, and feelings were raging out of control in him like a blizzard.

"I've always been just part of the scenery, part of the team of people you're working with to the top of the world, right? It wasn't until I suddenly snapped into this stupid wolf form, that you suddenly started getting close to me. Is it just because this form is more interesting than my human one? Are you just scared that I'll suddenly lose my humanity and randomly attack someone on the team, so you're just there to keep an eye on my sanity? Or is it because I'm constantly on my own in the forest, that you're _worried for me_?" The last part came out as a half sneer, half snarl, mocking and animalistic at the same time. It was nothing like is usual tone; being in his wolf form made controlling feelings hard as instincts took over.

"I-" Gouenji cut in again, but Fubuki was on his feet in a flash, pouncing onto Gouenji's chest. He let out a growl and bared his teeth, somehow morbidly relishing in the shocked expression the legendary flame striker now wore.

"Oh, scared now, aren't you? Scared I'll injure you and render you useless for our next match? Or, are you scared I'll scar you forever, rendering you unable to court your Toramaru-kun with a handsome face?"

"Are you jealous?" Gouenji asked softly.

"…!"

"Are you jealous?" Gouenji repeated.

"Maybe I am," Fubuki whispered, gaining control over himself and slowly stepping back onto the ground, curling up again, facing away from the handsome platinum blond. "I guess I'm just being really jealous. Jealous that you have so many friends, jealous that you never seem to get injured in matches, jealous that you can be so calm even in the most tight situations. Everyone one wants you to be their friend, Gouenji-kun. They all want someone to confine their troubles and thoughts in, they all want someone that is strong and reliable like you. And," Fubuki continued, "they all want someone so gentle and caring and loyal as a friend."

For once, Gouenji was silent.

That had to be one of Fubuki's greatest feats ever, to render Gouenji Shuuya, ace smooth talker speechless.

"I'm jealous, Gouenji-kun, that Toramaru can catch your attention so easily. Jealous that he can butt into anything just because he's younger and cute. Jealous that he can have his own way in everything. It's not like I don't like Toramaru-kun, but I'm really, really, terribly jealous of him.

"I know I tend to become friends with girls, but it's always hard to try to befriend a guy. I don't really fit in, and when I do, I'm just part of the backdrop, unnoticed. I could just sit there, and become part of the scenery. It's been like that ever since Atsuya was gone. He's always been the social one, and his friends are my friends. But when he was gone, they were gone. And all those who're around me are girls like Konko-chan.

"I'm really envious at how you guys can just fit in easily, and lead a normal life like any other person. Perhaps you don't really describe your life as normal, but it has much more normalcy than mine. For more than half of my life, I've been possessed by my dead twin through his old scarf; more than 60% of my real friends are girls, and even though I get myself involved in multiple activities, no one seems to notice me. I haven't fit in since Atsuya was gone.

"I'm jealous too, at how you're strong and independent. At how you don't need someone to lean on, like me. I can stand long periods of time on my own, but in the end, I always need someone's arms to fall into.

"It hurts so much, losing my family, losing my friends, losing my identity, losing the hope that my crush would ever notice me, since so many other people can catch his attention better than I do! I'm just the backdrop, after all, right? It hurts, my past, my present, and probably my future too!

"I'm so damn jealous at how _you_ don't seem to get jealous, Gouenji-kun!"

Silence fell uneasily again when Fubuki ran out of things to rant. He didn't even realize he was crying until moisture dripped from the sides of his face to the grass.

"I get jealous too," Gouenji finally said. "I'm jealous of how you get both boys and girls alike cooing over you without even trying."

"Wait. Boys?!"

"Someoka has the hots for you, and so do many girls all over the world, in case you haven't noticed. For your information, it's rumored that Hiroto is torn between you, Midorikawa and Endou. _Please._ And the person I want most to be cooing over me probably doesn't even realize I care so damn much about him that it hurts!"

Fubuki froze.

"And it hurts even more when I know that he is suffering from himself," Gouenji whispered. "It hurts so much that I just want to just hug him and tell him it's okay because I really care for him and I don't want him to be hurt." Gouenji paused, and Fubuki heard him swallow. "Fubuki, can I, you know, give you a hug?"

Quietly, Fubuki rose from his spot and padded over to where the platinum blond sat hunched over on the grass, nosing his arm wordlessly.

The corners of Gouenji's mouth hitched up, and those tanned, strong arms were around Fubuki, enveloping in him warmth that spoke of security and concern. Unable to return the gesture properly, Fubuki buried his muzzle into Gouenji's shoulder.

"Sorry," Fubuki mumbled, closing his eyes.

Gouenji made no reply, but his arms tightened around Fubuki, and that was all he needed to know that he was forgiven, and that, the guy the flame striker was so concerned for was him indeed.

OoOoOoOoO

That evening after dinner found Gouenji and Fubuki closer than ever, curled up together on the sofa, watching as Hiroto mercilessly beat Someoka up on Inazuma Strikers with hissatsu after hissatsu, chuckling as one when Hiroto won the match with the score 10-0, and Someoka fell to the floorboards, defeated, while Hiroto laughed manically, demanding a volunteer for Round 2.

Fubuki's jaw almost hit the floor when Gouenji stood up. "I'll try."

The team cheered when Gouenji walked forward calmly, taking a seat on the floor in front of the screen, picking up the remote and turning to the screen serenely. Fubuki watched as Gouenji picked his players for the team. Endou as the goalkeeper. Kazemaru, Kabeyama, Tsunami and Hijikata as defenders. Kidou, Fudou and Sakuma as midfields and, with a jolt, Fubuki realized he had Fubuki himself and Gouenji as forwards.

_"Well then! It will be a match of Gouenji's Inazuma Japan verses Hiroto's Genesis!"_ The annoying sound of the commentary guy sounded from the speakers, and everyone looked on apprehensively.

Within the first five minutes of the virtual match, Hiroto had scored as Gran with Ryuusei Blade, turning the results to 1-0.

However, Gouenji retaliated with passing the ball to virtual Fubuki, who scored a goal successfully with Wolf Legend, and everyone laughed at Genesis' goalkeeper's downtrodden expression on the screen.

There was some furious fighting for the ball for the next few minutes and no one dared to speak to break the two's concentration.

_"AAAAANND SCOOORE!" _The voice screamed from the speakers as Virtual Gran scored once more with Ryuusei Blade.

"Gouenji-san! Switch me in!" Toramaru butted in.

"Or Kogure in defence!"

"Tobitaka may work!"

"Or Hiroto in Inazuma Japan form…?"

Gouenji ignored them all and turned back to the screen, taking matters into his on virtual self's hands and getting a goal in with Bakuentsu Screw.

The team went wild from their respective positions all over the lounge as the first half ended with 2-2. No one, except Toramaru, perhaps, from sheer luck, had ever been neck to neck with Hiroto. Wait. Wasn't it rumored that Gouenji sucked at video games…?

"_WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, MAY THE SECOND HALF BEGIN!"_

"Shut up," Fubuki heard Fudou mutter.

"Gouenji-kun," came Hiroto's growl. "Eat this."

And so Supernova made it into the goal to many of the spectators' horror, and, worse, Endou ran out of TP, and had to be replaced by Tachimukai.

Luckily, to more than half the team's delight, the next goal was made by Gouenji, using Crossfire. It was Gouenji who was smiling in satisfaction and Fubuki blushing mentally.

Sweat was visibly beading on Hiroto's forehead when Genesis's goalkeeper Nero was thrown into the net by the sheer force of the shoot.

There were more frantic clicking of buttons, hisses, groans and cussing under breaths, a struggle for control.

"Go Gouenji-san!"

"Hiroto!"

"Gouenji!"

"Hiroto!"

"Gouenji!"

"Smash 'em, Gouenji!"

The team took a collective breath as virtual Gouenji snatched the ball just when Hiroto pressed the wrong button, heading up for the goal once more.

_"Crossfire!"_

_ "Time wall!"_

_ "GOOOOOOOAL! Gouenji and Fubuki has scored with Crossfire! The score is now 4:3, Inazuma Japan in lead!"_

Suddenly everyone was holding their breaths.

_"TIME'S UP! The score is 4:3, Gouenji's Inazuma Japan wins!"_

Hiroto was kneeling on the floor in defeat, Endou and Kazemaru standing over him, consoling the redhead.

Fubuki, apparently, _did not_ miss the satisfied smirk on Gouenji's face.

OoOoOoOoO

Later on that evening, when everyone had come down from their highs, Gouenji and Fubuki mutually agreed on staying in Fubuki's room for the night.

"It was a good game."

"Yeah. I had fun."

"Say, Gouenji-kun, I thought you didn't like video games. I never saw you play, after all, until earlier tonight."

"I just never bothered playing. I get a lot of practice at home with Yuuka, you know. I like it. Hey, I'm still a teenager, mind you."

They both chuckled, and fell silent a while later.

"Ne, Gouenji-kun?"

"Hn?"

"You haven't answered my question."

"Which?"

"The one concerning Toramaru-kun. This morning."

"_Which one._"

"If you like him or not."

"In the friends' way, yes. In the romantic way, no."

"… I shouldn't have said all that stuff."

"Why?"

"I might've hurt you."

"It did hurt, but it let me know the truth, so it's okay."

"Truth?"

Gouenji shifted to look directly into his eyes, a crooked smile gracing his features. "The truth that you like me."

"W-wha-" Fubuki spluttered, ducking and feeling the familiar burn of embarrassment heat up his fur.

"It's obvious," Gouenji smirked, ruffling his neck fur playfully. "It's near impossible to get so jealous without liking _someone_. And ah, fearing rejection and competition, huh."

Fubuki whined and covered his eyes with his paws. This was _so embarrassing_. Even worse than slipping up in his ice-skating competition last year.

"I see that someone is embarrassed," Gouenji teased, stroking his left ear. "But hey, no need to be so embarrassed; I'm feeling cheesy here too."

Fubuki choked out a chuckle.

"You know what," Gouenji whispered. "You might'vegotten your crush's attention. He thinks he likes you too."

"Gouenji-kun, please, _please,_ don't joke with me…" Fubuki said weakly. "It's not funny."

"I'm serious now," Gouenji's voice was now steady, deep and quiet, all traces of playfulness gone. "I think I like you."

Fubuki was absolutely, completely frozen to his spot. His ears must be malfunctioning. There was no way Gouenji would've really fallen for him, out of all the other people he could've chosen. Like their ever-optimistic captain Endou, or Kazemaru, maybe, he was definitely pretty; or Kidou, calm, cool, collected and handsome, or Toramaru –

Gouenji's words broke his chain of thoughts.

"I've always liked being around you," the flame striker began softly. "Ever since we met in Okinawa. I can't ever recall being so… _attached_ to someone since Yuuka. No," Gouenji said as Fubuki opened his mouth to speak, cutting him off. "No. Not even Endou."

Fubuki found himself unable to respond properly without sounding stupid.

The flame striker continued when Fubuki didn't say anything.

"I'm not sure if you understand, but you're deeper than many people I've met. I like the way," Gouenji hesitated, something very uncommon for him, "how we're almost on the same wavelength. I felt it through every single of our encounters, especially when we did Crossfire for the first time. We just… did it. No cooperation or discussion needed. I like it."

"But have you ever noticed we're polar opposites?" Fubuki questioned quietly.

"Of course. But hey, we can always work out, if we balance each other out," Gouenji replied, smiling that particular smile that made Fubuki melt down from the core.

Silence stretched on.

"Fubuki…" Gouenji murmured, and Fubuki raised his head from between his paws. "Yes, Gouenji-kun?"

"I love you."

Gouenji confessed. Gouenji confessed to him. _Gouenji Shuuya, legendary flame striker, had confessed to him, Fubuki Shirou the werewolf freak._

Hesitation flickered across the tanned, handsome face when Fubuki sat rooted to the spot, his wolf face probably blank; his brain unable to process it all.

"Fub- Shirou…?"

Fubuki swore that his fur was smoking. "I-I l-lo-v-ve y-you t-too," he stuttered.

"I'm relieved to hear that," Gouenji whispered, smiling and blushing lightly. And he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, right between his two pointed ears.

Warmth coiled in the center of Fubuki's chest at the contact, growing hotter and hotter with each passing second. The heat spread to every single inch of his body, heightening in temperature still, to the point Fubuki could no longer open his eyes. He could barely hear Gouenji's gasp of shock.

And suddenly, the heat faded as quickly as it came, and he was lying on the bed again next to Gouenji.

The first thing he noticed was Gouenji was staring very hard at him. No. Staring was the wrong word. Rifling through his mental dictionary, Fubuki decided on _ogling_.

"Shirou, you…" Gouenji started, but stopped.

Completely mystified, Fubuki sat up, and found himself taller than before. He looked down onto himself and gasped.

Stretched out before him were perfectly human legs, completely bare. Tentatively holding his paws up, he found that they weren't paws anymore, but familiar human hands he'd lived with for most of his life.

Then he realized that he was naked.Flushing, he determinedly pulled his knees up to his chin, refusing to meet Gouenji's eyes. "So… I changed back."

"Not really," came Gouenji's light, teasing voice.

Fubuki watched as Gouenji reached to the top of his head and traced the edge of his ear. Wait. Ear on top of his head…

His own hands flew to touch the appendages.

Wolf ears.

Oh lord.

"And you still have your tail." Gouenji's tone was amused.

Twisting around, a grey, furry extension of his backbone greeted his eyes. He never noticed that his tail was so long.

Fubuki's face now probably was rivaled with the colour of a tomato. "T-this is embarrassing."

"This is _cute_," Gouenji corrected, smiling and patting his head gently. "And you know what?"

Fubuki could only stare at Gouenji, listening to both their heartbeats' rates increase. His wolf senses haven't left him yet.

"I get to kiss you properly." Gouenji's face was merely centimeters away from his.

The next thing Fubuki was aware of, Gouenji's lips were on his, he was engulfed in Gouenji's scent, and that he was clutching to the front of the flame striker's shirt, kissing back enthusiastically, despite his impossibly hot face.

They broke apart when they ran out of air, Gouenji's warm arms still around his bare torso, Fubuki still clinging to Gouenji's shirt.

"I love you… Shuuya-kun…"

"I love you too."

"Shuuya-kun?"

"Hm?"

"I… I'm still naked, you know…"

Gouenji promptly fell back to the covers, eyes rolling back, blood trickling out of his nose.

"I shouldn't have said that."

**AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA LOOK WHAT I DID TO GOUENJI.**

**XD**

**Riiiiight. Thank you for reading, and remember to review, so I'll know what to do to improve more! Until next time!**


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